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lightcastleIt might be because they propose things like this. (I'm not convinced this is real or will be applied, but it wouldn't surprise me.)
Microsoft is contemplating tying real-world health and psychological data to said avatars in an effort to discourage many-a-gamer’s sedentary lifestyle.
It gets better. How to motivate people using Xbox360 to adhere to your criteria? Simple!
To incentivize people to improve their physical well-being, Microsoft's [patent filing] notes that gamers will be locked out of certain components of a game or a chat room until the proper health parameters are met.
It gets better!
Microsoft's filing goes on to note that it wouldn’t just be physical characteristics that could be refined. "The physical characteristics can be further extended to psychological traits associated with the physical person, including intelligence, religious beliefs, political affiliations, and hobbies that affect the rendering of an avatar," the application reads.
Yup. We can create games that lock people out based on religious affiliation!
I do get the idea that this is because they want Xbox360 to become a community hub. Therefore Avatars should be immediately recognizable as the "right kind" of community. If I make an Xbox360 community for Buddhists, I don't want Brit Hume coming in and telling me Christianity offers me a better chance for forgiveness of my transgressions.
I'm not sure offering official visual cues for discrimination is the best way to go about this, and I am DAMN sure that crippling games if you don't meet "the right criteria" is almost certainly a terrible plan.
Microsoft is contemplating tying real-world health and psychological data to said avatars in an effort to discourage many-a-gamer’s sedentary lifestyle.
It gets better. How to motivate people using Xbox360 to adhere to your criteria? Simple!
To incentivize people to improve their physical well-being, Microsoft's [patent filing] notes that gamers will be locked out of certain components of a game or a chat room until the proper health parameters are met.
It gets better!
Microsoft's filing goes on to note that it wouldn’t just be physical characteristics that could be refined. "The physical characteristics can be further extended to psychological traits associated with the physical person, including intelligence, religious beliefs, political affiliations, and hobbies that affect the rendering of an avatar," the application reads.
Yup. We can create games that lock people out based on religious affiliation!
I do get the idea that this is because they want Xbox360 to become a community hub. Therefore Avatars should be immediately recognizable as the "right kind" of community. If I make an Xbox360 community for Buddhists, I don't want Brit Hume coming in and telling me Christianity offers me a better chance for forgiveness of my transgressions.
I'm not sure offering official visual cues for discrimination is the best way to go about this, and I am DAMN sure that crippling games if you don't meet "the right criteria" is almost certainly a terrible plan.
